FAQs

What ministries are Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa involved with and where?
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa are involved with many diverse ministries including elementary, high school, and college teaching; adult education; health and spirituality; peace and justice; and counseling. We are therapists, artists, theologians, nurses, librarians, family caregivers, administrators, liturgists, physicians, and social workers, We work in pastoral ministry, Hispanic ministry, parish ministry, and campus ministry. We minister throughout the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

Do you have to be Catholic to be a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa?
Yes. Women need to be fully-initiated members of the Catholic Church, for a minimum of two years, having received the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation.

Do I need to have a college education before entering? What if I’m divorced? What if I have children? 
Women need to have a high school education and minimally two years of college or work experience after high school before applying to enter. Divorced women are welcome to apply if they have obtained an annulment from the Church. Children of women looking to enter the congregation need to be over 21, self-sufficient, and self-supporting. Women who enter the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation need to be free to enter fully into the formation process.

Are people entering religious life today? 
Yes, a sense of call, service, and prayer continue to attract people to religious life. Most religious institutes have at least one person who has entered the community recently. The average age someone first considers religious life is 19 years old, so it’s not uncommon for high school students and young adults to ask questions about vocations. Every year in the United States, over 100 women and men become religious sisters, brothers, or priests (what we call fully professed). Similar to the vocation of marriage, 30 is the average age of entrance into religious life. There are over 1 million nuns, sisters, brothers, and priests in the world today.

How do religious sisters, brothers, and priests spend their days? 
Simply put: Religious spend their days at prayer, work, and play. Religious sisters, brothers, and priests strive to live balanced lives with their relationship with God as their priority. Prayer, both personal and communal is an essential part of the daily rhythm of religious life as are works of mercy and ministries in areas such as education, health care, and social services. Vowed communal life also allows time for personal interests, family, and fun.

Who is an inquirer? 
An inquirer is someone who is curious about religious life, but still unsure of his or her vocation. Inquirers spend time gathering information about church vocations and specific religious communities. They make use of print and online resources, such as Vision Vocation Guide and Vision VocationMatch.com, to understand the diversity of religious life and the options that might be right for them. Inquirers have no formal commitment to consecrated life or a specific religious institute.

Who is a discerner? 
A person who is considering a religious vocation is commonly referred to as a discerner A discerner meets on a regular basis with a vocation director to mutually make a decision on how to best respond to God’s call to holiness. They often participate in Come and See experiences, communal prayer, or service opportunities to experience a community’s way of life.

What is discernment? 
Discernment comes from the Latin discernere meaning to “separate” or “sift apart.” It is a skill and spiritual gift that allows one to make wise and authentic choices and distinguish right from wrong and good from bad, often with the assistance of others. Vocation discernment is a process of praying, listening, deciding, and freely responding to God’s call to holiness and sacred service. For some, vocation discernment will lead to marriage, for others it will lead to single life, consecrated life, or ordination. Vocation Directors are typically professionally trained to assist Catholics in discerning their vocation.

What is a Come and See experience? 
The Come and See experience is designed to help those considering religious life learn more about religious life by visiting the places where men and women in religious life serve and live. A vocation team plans a schedule that may include time for prayer, conversation, ministry, meals, catechesis, and informative presentations.

Who are Women Religious? 
Women Religious refers to both nuns and sisters who, as members of a religious institute, take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. There are over 500 institutes of women religious in the United States.

What is a Sister?  
A Sister is a woman religious who professes public vows to an apostolic (or active) religious institute, distinct from a nun, who is a woman religious who lives a contemplative life in a cloister. Sisters have a long legacy of dedicating their prayer and ministry to serving wherever the need is greatest, particularly with the abandoned, neglected, and underserved.

What are vows? 
A vow--solemn, public, or private--is a promise to God made freely and deliberately. A man and woman make a solemn vow to one another before God in the sacrament of Matrimony. A member of a religious community, a priest, sister, nun, and brother normally professes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Some communities add a fourth vow or have other variations on these vows.

What is meant by Mission? 
The mission of a religious institute refers to the purpose for which the community exists within the church to bring the Good News to all and transform humanity. The mission of the community is inspired by and expressed in its founding charism.

What is a charism? 
Each religious institute has a charism--a spirit, or way of life, which is inspired by the founder(s) of the congregation. From the Greek word charisma, meaning “gift,” a charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit for the common good of the church.

What is communal life?
Inspired by the early Christians, who “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42), communal life as it relates to religious life refers to groups who are dedicated to living together under a common rule to share resources and pursue common interests for the benefit of others.


Many answers above are courtesy of

NRVC National Religious Formation Conference Vocation Vocabulary
5401 South Cornell Avenue Suite 207
Chicago Illinois 60615
nrvc,net